Aaron W. Brooks is a partner with HolmstromKennedyPC in Rockford, where he serves as the

firm’s Privacy and Security Officer and chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property practice area as

well as its Privacy, Security & Information Technology practice area. His practice focuses on

technology-based transactions and managing information privacy and security matters. Through

the years, Aaron has negotiated and closed substantial and complex transactions, counseled

executive management for technology-based companies and information systems departments,

and managed all aspects of HIPAA privacy and security compliance for several medical

facilities, including a major metropolitan hospital. He frequently delivers or participates in

seminars on these topics and has written several articles as well.

Sandi R. Cloch is a Vice President and Senior Estate Administrator at the Northern Trust

Company. Sandi is responsible for the administration of complex estates of decedents including

taxable trusts and court supervised or non-supervised probate estates. Her work involves

sophisticated estate plans, legal matters, post mortem tax planning, sensitive family situations,

and complex property transfers.

Prior to joining Estate Settlement Services, Sandi Cloch was a Senior Trust Advisor with

Northern where she administered multi-generational trusts with highly complex tax, succession,

and property law elements. She also works with investment management clients and their

professional advisors on integrating strategies for wealth preservation and transfer into their

estate plans. She has experience implementing sophisticated estate planning structures, executing

charitable strategies, educating successive generations about family wealth, coordinating

liquidity events, and planning for retirement.

Prior to joining Northern Trust as Vice President in July, 2007, Sandi was an estate planning and

tax attorney with John E. Fish, Ltd. in Northbrook, Illinois. Before practicing law, Sandi worked

in the financial services industry in the areas of insurance consulting and financial planning for

business owners, executives, high net worth individuals and their families.

Sandi received a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from the University of Illinois at

Chicago and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law. She is a licensed Illinois

life and health insurance producer. Sandi is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council

and the Illinois State Bar Association.

Susan Dawson-Tibbits of Johnson, Bunce & Noble, P.C. in Peoria, Illinois has over thirty-

seven years of experience in assisting elders and their families with their legal needs. Her

practice includes both trial work and counseling in a broad range of elder law issues, including

guardianships, long-term care planning, Medicaid and Medicare, elder abuse, advance directives,

nursing home residents’ rights, and retirement benefits. She is a member of the National

Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; a past Chair of longtime member of the Illinois State Bar

Association Elder Law Section Council; and a past president of the Peoria County Bar

Association. She works closely with such organizations as Adult Protective Services, and was on

the Board of Directors of the Central Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association for many

years. She is a frequent speaker on issues involving elder law. She received a B.A. with honors

from Illinois State University, and her law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

Edward Farmer an U.S. Army veteran of the Iraq War and understand the unique legal needs of

the Veteran community. A majority of his career has been dedicated to providing quality legal

assistance the veteran community. He has extensive experience in handling VA disability

appeals at the Regional Office, Board of Veterans Appeals, and the Court of Appeals for

Veterans Claims. As an Adjunct Professor of Law at The John Marshall Law School, he teaches

law students and other lawyers the substantive and practical aspects VA disability appeals,

discharge upgrades, and veteran diversion court matters. Due to his experience, he has been

frequently invited to present on veteran and military service-related topics. He is currently, the

owner of the Law Office of Edward M. Farmer, a firm providing affordable and quality legal

representation to Servicemembers, Veterans, Veteran-owned businesses, and Veteran supported

organizations.

Anthony B. Ferraro has 37 years of experience as an Attorney and CPA with a MS in Taxation.

He has managed his own private law practice for over 28 years. He is also a frequent guest

lecturer for numerous bar associations, health care symposiums and organizations serving seniors

and their loved ones.

On October 1, 2016, Mr. Ferraro and staff merged his law practice into the well-established and

well- respected 60-year-old and multifaceted and multi-practice law firm of DiMonte and Lizak,

LLC. With this merger Mr. Ferraro is now a partner at DiMonte and Lizak. Mr. Ferraro is now

able to offer additional services to his clients in the areas of litigation and appeals, employment

law and human resources, real estate services, real estate development and land use, construction

and mechanics liens, commercial transactional services, corporate and business governance,

estate planning and probate, creditors rights and bankruptcy, banking and finance, taxation, and

guardianship and probate related litigation.

As an Estate and Trust attorney Mr. Ferraro plans and administers the estates of clients, giving

attention to the impact of the client's dispositive wishes, asset protection planning, estate and

income tax minimization, as well as the orderly and efficient administration of trusts and estates

after death.

As an Elder Law attorney, he and his staff focus on Elder Law, which combines ''senior” estate

planning, disability planning, long term care planning, nursing home contracts and admissions,

special needs planning, governmental benefits planning such as VA benefits, Medicaid asset

protection planning and eligibility, Medicare eligibility, and estate and trust administration.

He was the 2015 President of the Illinois Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law

Attorney current member. He is a member of the Elder Law Section Council of the Illinois State

Bar Association, and a member of Elder Counsel, Wealth Counsel and the National Academy of

Elder Law Attorneys.

Mr. Ferraro is a past-President of the Justinian Society of Lawyers and a charter member of the

panel of participating attorneys for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). He is

also a past member of the commercial faculty of the American Arbitration Association (AAA)

and is current member of the commercial panel of the American Arbitration Association.

Having practiced now for years with in-depth experience, Mr. Ferraro is able to provide a diverse

array of services to solve many of the problems concerning seniors, boomers and their families in

matters of Estates and Trusts as well as Elder Law and Elder Care.

Some of his other professional affiliations include the Illinois State Bar Association, the

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Association of Attorneys-

CPAs, Inc.

Mr. Ferraro earned his B.S. in Accountancy at DePaul University College of Commerce in 1973,

his M.S. in Taxation at DePaul University Graduate School of Commerce in 1976, and his J.D. at

DePaul University College of Law in 1983.

James J. Grogan is both the Deputy Administrator and the Chief Counsel of the Attorney

Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois (ARDC). For over 36

years, he has investigated and prosecuted hundreds of charges of lawyer misconduct and has

argued dozens of disciplinary cases in the Supreme Court of Illinois. He is a Past President of the

National Organization of Bar Counsel (NOBC), the bar association of lawyer regulators. For

over 30 years, Mr. Grogan has taught legal ethics, first at the DePaul University College of Law

and then at the Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, where he is an Adjunct Professor.

He has presented hundreds of speeches, lectures and workshops to law firms, bar associations,

corporations and judicial and governmental groups and agencies on various professional

responsibility and lawyer regulation topics.

Daniel C. Hawkins admitted to bar, 1990, Illinois and U.S. District Court, Northern District of

Illinois. Education: University of Illinois (B.A. with honors, 1987); Northern Illinois University

(J.D., magna cum laude, 1990). Delta Theta Phi; Member: Northern Illinois Law Review

(Assistant Editor 1989-1990). Whiteside County Public Administrator and Guardian, 1994-2015.

Member: Whiteside County and Illinois State Bar Associations (Member of Elder Law Section

Council, 1997-present, President, 2006); National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Practice

Areas: Probate, Trust and Estate Planning, Real Estate, School Law.

Ryan Himmel graduated from Saint Rita of Cascia High School in May 2002 and immediately

entered the U.S. Navy, attending basic training in Great Lakes, IL.

After boot camp Ryan attended Naval Aircrew Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida which

trains and evaluates AW students in basic flight physiology and water survival. The course

includes low-pressure hypobaric chamber training, night vision evaluations, multi-station spatial

disorientation device training, and aircraft emergency water egress device.

After Aircrew School Ryan was sent to Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE)

training which encompasses the basic skills necessary for worldwide survival, facilitating search

and rescue efforts, evading capture by hostile forces.

Ryan’s first duty assignment was with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Three (VQ) 3 at

Tinker Air Force Base, OK, and was assigned onboard the E6-B Mercury aircraft. He spent 6

years flying onboard the Mercury deploying all over the globe in support of various military

operations.

Ryan re-enlisted in the Navy and was enrolled at the Naval School of Health Sciences, San

Diego, CA, for training as a counselor. After a one year clinical internship Ryan was certified as

a Substance Abuse Counselor (CADC). Following his three year re-enlistment Ryan was

honorably discharged in 2012.

After the Navy Ryan went to work at Accenture as a corporate recruiter, and in 2013 accepted a

position with the US Department of Veterans Affairs as a Mental Health Counselor. Ryan

worked at the James Lovell Federal Care Center for 3 years. Ryan began Law School at John

Marshall in the spring of 2014 as a part-time law student. In May 2016 Ryan left his position

with the VA to begin law school full-time, and gain further legal experience. Currently Ryan

works at the JM Veterans Legal Support Clinic.

Eugenia C. Hunter earned a B.A. from Southern Illinois University in 1963. In 1963-4, she

studied Interdisciplinary Social Science at San Francisco State College, then returned to SIU for

a M.S. (Economics) in 1970 and a J.D. in 1976. In 1977, she was admitted to practice in the

Illinois Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, and she

served as Assistant State's Attorney in Jackson County. She was admitted to practice before the

United States Court for the Seventh Circuit in 1986, and to the Supreme Court of the United

States in 2011.

Ms. Hunter has been in private practice since 1977. Today, she concentrates on adoption,

bankruptcy, corporate law, elder law, estate planning, expungements, guardianships, probate and

real estate and is frequently appointed a guardian ad litem for children and disabled adults. Ms.

Hunter was first qualified to represent children in 2006 and maintains this qualification. She is a

member of the Illinois State Bar Association, and has served on numerous standing and special

committees, taskforces and section councils. She is also a member of the Jackson County Bar

Association and the Bankruptcy Association of Southern Illinois and she currently serves on the

ISBA Elder Law and Senior Lawyer Section Councils.

In 2011, she received both a Land of Lincoln Joseph R. Bartylak Pro Bono Award and a

Certificate of Appreciation from the Legal Services Corporation for an extraordinary

commitment to providing equal access to justice.

Myles L. Jacobs is a graduate of Dartmouth College (1954) and the New York University

School of law (1959). He was admitted to practice in New York and Illinois in 1960. Mr. Jacobs

concentrates his practice in the areas of Commercial and Residential Real Estate Law, Business

and Corporate Law, Zoning and Estate Planning. He is the partner in the law firm of Castle Law

with offices in Joliet, IL and Homer Glen, IL.

Mr. Jacobs has been a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Real Estate Section Council

since 1993 and served as its Chairman from June 2001- June 2002. He presently serves as Co-

Coordinator of its Continuing Legal Education committee and regularly lectures at the Real

Estate Section Council’s Update Seminars. He is a frequent contributor to the Real Estate

Section Council’s Newsletter and has appeared as a panelist on the Illinois State Bar Association

Television programs, which have dealt with Buying and Selling a home (1995), Remodeling and

Construction Contracts (1998), Condominium Law (2002), Home Financing (2005), the

purchase of Bank Owned Property (2010), Remodeling Your Home, and Contractor and Contract

Issues.

Mr. Jacobs is a former member of the ISBA Task Force on the Unauthorized Practice of Law.

In December 2010, the ISBA honored Mr. Jacobs for reaching 50 years of service to the Bar by

conferring on him the titled of “Distinguished Counsellor.”

In 2015, Mr. Jacobs was the recipient of the ISBA Mathew Maloney Tradition in Excellence

award.

Mr. Jacobs is past President of the Will County Bar Association and is Co-Chairman of its Real

Estate Law Committee. He has assisted in the writing of the Three Rivers Association of

Realtors approved Real Estate Contract and its subsequent revisions. He serves as a panel

member of the Will County Pro-Bono program.

Mr. Jacobs is the editor of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) reference

book titled, Residential Real Estate (2003) and the Co-Editor of its 2008 and 2010 editions.

Dave Lecik is a Medicare Training Specialist with the Illinois Department on Aging, Senior

Health Insurance Program (SHIP). Prior to SHIP, Dave worked for the Illinois Department of

Human Services (Medicaid) for 14 years as both a Human Service Caseworker and a Staff

Development Specialist. He has worked with the Illinois SHIP for 5 years. His wide range of

experience with both Medicare and Medicaid makes him a team leader in the Illinois SHIP

office. Dave has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology degree and many years of speaking and

training experience.

Heather McPherson practices in Freeport at McPherson Law Offices. She is a graduate of Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin with a B.A. in Economics and Management, and from Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ms. McPherson’s practice is concentrated in estate planning, probate, trust administration, estate and trust litigation, guardianships, elder law and agricultural real estate. She is licensed in Illinois as well as Wisconsin. Ms. McPherson has been active in the Illinois State Bar Association since 2004, and is a former chair of the Elder Law Section Council (2009 – 2010). She has been involved in several legislative projects through the Illinois State Bar Association and currently serves on the Assembly. She served as Treasurer of the Stephenson County Bar Association from 2002 to 2003. Ms. McPherson was appointed as a Hearing Board Panel Chair for the A.R.D.C. in 2014, and has been serving as Hearing Board Panel Member since 2008. She is active in her local community serving on the board of directors for several organizations, including Freeport Health Network, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport Health Network Foundation, Freeport Country Club, and Parkview Home.

Erica Crohn Minchella is a graduate of Loyola University School of Law and has practiced law

for 35 years, of which 33 have been in some form of her own firm. Jokingly referring to herself

as a “distress real estate lawyer”, Erica concentrates her time, talents and passion on assisting

clients to be well-informed about their real estate decisions, whether they are buying a home or

an investment, as well as helping them get out of debt and to build a solid financial future. Her

field of expertise includes the spectrum of conventional and distressed real property issues,

foreclosure defense, short sale transactions, and counseling her clients in re-establishing their

credit and becoming debt free and mortgage free. She also advises investors in need of exit

strategies for real estate deals gone sour as well as those who see the current market as a great

place to invest, as well as home buyers who are purchasing conventional and distressed real

estate. For five years in a row, Erica has been named a Leading Lawyer by the Leading Lawyers

Network and has been named a Super Lawyer for 2017. The extent of her mentoring younger

attorneys in her areas of concentration as well as marketing and law office management has been

acknowledged in the Kathryn Barisa Rinella Mentoring Award, given to her by the Justinian

Society of Lawyers. . Erica serves on the Boards of the Association of Foreclosure Defense

Attorneys (Founder and President), and Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association and is a

Commissioner on the Village of Skokie Economic Development Commission. Currently, Erica is

the 2016-17 Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Real Estate Law Section Council. She is

regularly invited to be on the faculty of continuing legal education programs on real estate issues.

Her business and professional association memberships include the Justinian Society of Lawyers,

Small Business Advocacy Council, Women’s Council of Realtors, Women’s Bar Association

and the Skokie Chamber of Commerce. She has maintained her Real Estate License for over 25

years. The mother of two grown children, she has been married for over 32 years to her

husband, Jim.

Patrick D. Owens is an equity partner with DiMonte & Lizak, LLC, with offices at 216 West

Higgins Road, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068.

Patrick received his pre-legal education at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana,

where he was awarded his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting in 1993.

In addition, Patrick received his legal education at DePaul University, College of Law where he

graduated with a Juris Doctor Degree in 1996. Patrick also attended post-graduate night classes

in taxation specializing in Estate and Personal Financial Planning and in May of 2002 received

his LL.M. in Taxation (Masters Degree in Tax Law) with honors from The John Marshall Law

School. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois (1996) and the United

States District Court (1996).

Patrick is also a member of the following professional Associations:

The American Bar Association, Member of the Committees on: Real Property, Probate and

Trust, Taxation, The Illinois Bar Association, Member of the Committees on: Real Property and

Trusts and Estates, The Chicago Bar Association 1996-2010, Northwest Suburban Bar

Association, Probate Practice Committee Co-Chairman 2006-2013, Northwest Suburban Estate

Planning Council, Board Member 1999 through 2014, Planning Director from 1999 through

2002 and President in 2005, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, Received the Chicago Volunteer

Legal Services Distinguished Service Award in 1998, 2002, and 2009, Illinois Institute for

Continuing Legal Education Moderator and Lecturer on Various Trust and Estate Issues 2001-

2014, ISBA Trusts and Estates Section Council and the ISBA Federal Taxation Section Council.

Patrick also currently sits on the Board of Directors, Trust and Investment Committee and Audit

Committee at ATG Trust Company. Patrick has spoken on numerous occasions on various estate

and gift tax related topics and currently is the Chair of the Estate Planning Practice Group at

DiMonte & Lizak, LLC.

Patrick's experience includes working with numerous estates ranging from small nontaxable

estates to very large taxable estates. Patrick has been involved in the administration and

supervision of these estates, probate and non-probate, from start to finish, including all income,

gift and estate tax returns and important detailed work. The experience Patrick gained from the

estate administration side also aides in the estate planning area of the practice, with valuable

practical experience gained from handling all aspects of pre and post mortem planning including

guardianships and special needs trusts and advanced estate planning techniques. Additionally,

Patrick has been involved in both the residential and commercial real estate transactions in the

office, handling many of the transactions since he was admitted to the Illinois Bar. Finally,

Patrick has worked with many new and existing business ventures, helping in the structuring,

business, tax planning and buy-outs.

Kerry R. Peck is the managing partner of the Chicago law firm Peck Ritchey, LLC. His clients

include families, hospitals, banks, the State of Illinois, County of Cook, and City of Chicago. For

ten consecutive years, he has been selected by his peers in statewide surveys of Illinois attorneys

as a “Super Lawyer”, an attorney to whom other attorneys would refer their family, and he was

named a member of the Leading Lawyers Network. Mr. Peck is the recipient of the 2014 Justice

John Paul Stevens Award, the Chicago Bar Association’s highest honor. He was also selected by

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law as one of their 125 Alumni of Distinction.

Mr. Peck was retained by the City of Chicago Department of Aging to rewrite the State of

Illinois Elder Abuse and Neglect Act. Mr. Peck is the co-author of Alzheimer’s and the Law,

published by the American Bar Association. Mr. Peck has written articles for the Chicago Daily

Law Bulletin, Chicago Bar Association Record, Illinois State Bar Journal, and various other

journals and newspapers. He teaches attorneys and healthcare professionals across the country,

and is a former adjunct professor at John Marshall Law School’s Elder Law Studies program

where he taught a guardianship course.

Kerry Peck has been appointed Guardian Ad Litem in the Circuit Court by the Probate Division,

Chancery Division and County Division, involving complex cases including health care, tax

issues, real estate and medical issues. Mr. Peck has been appointed Special Administrator,

Successor Administrator and/or Successor Trustee in contested trust and estate cases all by Court

order.

Bernard Peter earned his B.A. at College of the Holy Cross in 1966 and his J.D. at the

University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in 1969. He is admitted to practice in

Illinois and Maryland.

Mr. Peter is Of Counsel at Miller Canfield in Chicago, Illinois where he concentrates his practice

in employee benefits law and the application of employee benefits law to business transactions.

He has worked on a broad range of employee benefits compliance and regulatory issues for

clients ranging from small corporations to very large publicly traded companies, not-for-profit

organizations and governmental entities.

Mr. Peter has drafted and amended qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and

medical and other welfare benefit plans, to comply with the Employment Retirement Security

Act of 1974, as amended, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and regulations and rulings issued

under ERISA and the Code. He has worked on Employee Stock Ownership Plans and has

handled multi-employer withdrawal liability matters and IRS, U.S. Department of Labor and

Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation audits of retirement plans. He has prepared

communication pieces, such as Summary Plan Descriptions and retirement statements, to

communicate to employees of his clients the value of the employee benefits they are receiving

from their employers.

Mr. Peter has implemented non-qualified retirement arrangements for executives and drafted

severance plans and change of control provisions. In addition, he has provided legal services to

clients on COBRA issues, the employee benefits aspects of acquisitions, mergers and

divestitures, the termination of qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and on

post-retirement medical, flexible benefits issues and on the Patient Protection and Affordable

Care Act.

Paul L. S. Peterson is Vice President and Senior Underwriter of the Fidelity National Family of

Title Insurance Companies. Paul authored their probate booklet Rights of Heirs and Devisees and

their Purchasers in Illinois Real Estate. Paul also specializes in mechanics’ lien underwriting and

financial analysis on a national basis.

Paul is a member of the ISBA Real Estate Law Section Council and Construction Law Section

Council, the CBA Real Estate Committee and Mechanics Lien Subcommittee, the Illinois Land

Title Association Legislative Committee and Title Council Committee, the Chicago Mortgage

Attorneys Association, the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys, and the ABA Construction

Law Forum. Paul is a former president of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys and a

former chair of the CBA Mechanics Lien Subcommittee. Paul is a frequent lecturer either to or

on behalf of these organizations. Paul received the 2015 President’s Award for his legislative

efforts on behalf of the Illinois Land Title Association.

Paul also includes in his list of publications Mechanics Lien Issues in Residential Real Estate

Transactions by William Lyman and Paul Peterson in Residential Real Estate (IICLE, 2008), and

The Illinois Statutory Construction Payment Procedure – Contract Concerns in Constructional

Law – Contract Concerns (IICLE 2010).

Paul is a graduate of IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law. He has worked for Chicago Title

Insurance Company and its affiliates continuously since 1971.

Scott D. Pollock has practiced U.S. immigration law since 1985. His firm, Scott D. Pollock &

Associates, P.C., is nationally recognized and rated AV (very high to preeminent) by Martindale

Hubbell. He is a frequent speaker and author and he has contributed many articles to the ISBA’s

international and immigration newsletter The Globe. Scott was the 2013-14 Chair for ISBA’s

International and Immigration Law Section Council, and served on the I&I section council from

2002.

His clients include universities, religious organizations, financial, manufacturing, health care and

high tech companies, and individuals. He is fluent in Spanish and enjoys variety and challenges.

His firm’s mission is to provide personal and effective legal service, to master complex U.S.

immigration laws and procedures, and to identify strategies and achieve the goals of its clients,

while contributing to the progressive advancement of the profession and immigration law. Scott

has been selected for years on the “Leading Illinois Attorney” and “Illinois Super Lawyer” lists,

as among the top 5% of immigration lawyers by his colleagues. In 2009, he received the Joseph

Minsky Beacon of Light Award for mentoring in the field of immigration law by the Chicago

Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

He is also an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). A

frequent speaker and author for AILA, he was AILA’s Chicago Chapter chair, a member of its

Amicus, Students and Scholars, Business Immigration Litigation, Consumer Protection and

Nebraska Service Center Liaison committees, national chair of its Consumer

Protection/Authorized Representation Task Force, and served on numerous local chapter

committees, including chairperson of its Asylum Office and Immigration Judge liaison

committees. He is a past-chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Immigration and Nationality

Law Committee, and is a longtime member of the National Immigration Project of the National

Lawyers Guild, Inc. He is a member of NAFSA- Association of International Educators and

World Chicago (previously the International Visitors Center of Chicago). He served for five

years on the board of the Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries (IRIM) in Chicago, is on

the board of its successor organization Refugee One, and has been a consulting attorney for the

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society’s naturalization assistance project in Chicago. He also presently

serves as a legal advisor to the Consulate of Mexico in Chicago and advises other consulates and

consular officials on U.S. immigration matters.

Scott’s active legal practice includes all areas of immigration law and procedure, including

immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, political asylum, deportation/removal defense, waivers of

inadmissibility, employment authorization and employer compliance/sanctions, appeals and

federal litigation. His cases include Rubman v. USCIS, 800 F.3d 381 (7th Cir.2015) (reversing

district court’s order granting summary judgment to the defendants and ordering USCIS to

conduct search for documents under FOIA); Morales-Morales v. Ashcroft, 384 F.3d 418 (7th Cir.

2004) (reversing denial of cancellation of removal and finding repeated departures and reentries

did not interrupt the petitioner’s continuous residence); Kamal v. Gonzales, 547 F. Supp. 2d 869

(N.D. IL 2008) (ordering the USCIS to adjudicate an adjustment of status application);

Kholyasvsky v. Schlecht et al., 479 F. Supp. 2d 897 (E.D. WI 2007) (granting EAJA fees and

holding that a “catalyst theory” still applies to immigration habeas actions); and Bace v. Ashcroft,

352 F.3d 1133 (7th Cir. 2003) (finding eligibility for political asylum based on past persecution).

Sharon R. (Sherri) Rudy is a sole practitioner in Rockford where her practice is concentrated in

guardianship, estate administration, and probate law. She is the Public Guardian and Public

Administrator for Winnebago and Boone Counties and is a National Certified Guardian. She

frequently represents elderly and disabled adult victims of financial exploitation, abuse, and

neglect.

Ms. Rudy received her B.A. from Carleton College in Northfield, MN and her J.D. from Loyola

University Chicago School of Law. She was a staff attorney for the Illinois Guardianship &

Advocacy Commission from 1982-87. She is an adjunct associate professor of jurisprudence in

psychiatry at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford. She is the author or co-

author of numerous articles on guardianship, elder law, and elder abuse and neglect, including a

chapter on the history of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Comprehensive

Textbook of Psychiatry III and the chapter on Guardianship in the IICLE publication Advising

Elderly Clients and Their Families. Ms. Rudy has been a speaker for IICLE, ISBA, the Illinois

Department on Aging, the National Business Institute, and numerous state and local bar

programs, community agencies and organizations on the topics of family, elder, and disability

law.

Ms. Rudy is a member and past chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Elder Law Section

Council and a past member of the ISBA Committee on the Mentally Disabled, ISBA Committee

on Bar Services and Activities, and the ISBA Human Rights Section Council. She is an active

member of the Adult Protective Services Abuse, the Illinois Department on Aging Region 1

Fatality Review Committee, the Winnebago County Task Force on Hoarding, and the advisory

board of the Visiting Nurses Association Money Management Program. Ms. Rudy is a past

president and member of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Guardianship Association. In

addition, she is a member of the National Guardianship Association and the Winnebago County

Bar Association.

Ms. Rudy formerly served on the Board of Directors for the Visiting Nurses Association of

Rockford, the Board of Directors for United Cerebral Palsy (past president), and the Board of

Crusader Clinic. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Klehm Arboretum in

Rockford. Ms. Rudy is a recipient of the Violence Prevention Collaborative Partner in Peace

Award and the Sid Granet Aging Network Achievement Award.

Avram Sacks, an attorney with a private practice concentrating on Social Security law and

benefits, is a national expert in Social Security law, who has provided guidance for thousands of

professionals in the areas of taxation under FICA and SECA, Social Security benefit analysis,

and disability benefit advocacy. He is a former Assistant Regional Counsel for the Social

Security Administration, and, for 24 years, was editor of the CCH Social Security Law Reporter.

He is the author of two books on Social Security Law and has successfully represented clients in

Social Security cases in the federal district and appellate courts.

He is a graduate of Indiana University and Case Western Reserve University School of Law,

and, is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and its Social Security Law Committee, the

National Academy of Elderlaw Attorneys, and the National Organization of Social Security

Claimant’s Representatives.

Avi has been frequently quoted in the media, most notably the New York Times and the Wall

Street Journal; frequently lectures to both lay and professional groups across the country on

Social Security matters; and, advises clients in his private practice on how to maximize their

Social Security retirement benefits through optimal claiming strategies.

Martin W. Siemer currently serves as a Circuit Judge for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Illinois. Prior to his election in 2014, Siemer spent 20 years in private practice with offices in Effingham and Casey, Illinois. Mr. Siemer graduated in 1994 summa cum laude and as class valedictorian from Saint Louis University School of Law. He received a B.S. in Secondary Education in 1991 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Siemer has served as a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Elder Law Section Council since 2006 and has been a speaker for the ISBA Elder Law Boot Camp, the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education Elder Law Short Course and for the Life Care Planning Law Firms Association Annual Conference. Mr. Siemer was a member of the Teutopolis Community Unit School District No. 50 Board of Education from 1997-2014, with terms as the Board’s secretary, vice-president and president

Hon Ron Spears (retired) served as a Circuit Judge in the Fourth Judicial Circuit until 2016.

Since then he has served as a Mediator and Arbitrator with Spears Dispute Resolution. He

graduated in 1977 (summa cum laude) from SIU School of Law where he was Editor in Chief of

the Law Journal. After admission to the Illinois Bar, he served two years as Law Clerk for the

United States District Court in the Central District of Illinois. He then joined a Taylorville law

firm and was engaged in the general practice of law with an emphasis on litigation in state and

federal courts. The Illinois Supreme Court appointed him to the Circuit Court bench in 1993; he

was elected to the position in 1994 and retained in three elections.

Judge Spears has been active in the Illinois State Bar Association (elected to the Assembly and

Board of Governors), the Illinois Judges Association (Past-President), the Lincoln-Douglas Inn

of Court (Past-President), and other local and national legal associations. He is a frequent

lecturer for Continuing Legal Education courses for lawyers and judges, as well as author of

numerous articles in legal publications. He is also a retired Army Colonel, having served in the

Illinois Army National Guard as State Judge Advocate and Certified Military Judge.

Kristi Vetri earned her B S degree in Political Science cum laude from Frostburg State, her

Master’s degree in Public Administration summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University in

Edwardsville, and her J D from St Louis University, where she was an articles editor of the Law

Journal. In addition to being licensed to practice law in Illinois and South Dakota, she is licensed

to practice before the U S Supreme Court, the U S Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the

Federal District Court She is also an accredited attorney with the Veteran's Administration and

practices before the Social Security Administration. She is an adjunct professor of law at John

Marshall Law School in Chicago in its Elder Law curriculum program.

Ms. Vetri was 2013-2014 Chair of the Elder Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar

Association (ISBA), the 2013-2014 Chair of the ISBA Public Relations Standing Committee,

and 2014-2016 Chair of the ISBA Marketing and Communications Standing Committee. She has

been a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) (1999-2014), a

Director on its national board (2009-2013) and served as its Editor in Chief of the NAELA News

Kristi was a founding member of the Elder Law Committee of the State Bar of South Dakota.

Politically active, she spent 20 years in public service as an Alderman, Mayor, and Township

Supervisor in O’Fallon, Illinois and continues to lobby regularly on behalf of seniors' rights in

Illinois, South Dakota and Washington, D.C.

Her leadership positions with the American Bar Association (ABA) Solo, Small Finn General

Practice Division include Liaison to the ABA Commission on Law and Aging - ABA Aging and

Law Network, Co-Chair of the Elder Law Committee, and a Member of the Senior Lawyer

Committee where she is an Issue editor for its Experience magazine.

She lectures on a variety of Elder Law topics throughout the United States, makes frequent guest

appearances on public radio, and has authored numerous articles and CLEs. Recent topics

include "Representing Clients with Diminished Capacity," "End of Life Considerations," "Long

Term Care and Asset Preservation Planning," and the recent Medicaid changes in Illinois. Most

recently she co-authored “NAELA and Twilight Lawyers.”

She has acted as the CLE Chair of the ISBA Elder Law Section since 2013 and created the two

day Elder Law Bootcamp scheduled annually in April. She has served as a moderator, speaker

and a member of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE) Planning

Committee for the Elder Law Short Course since 2005, has been Co-Chair of the April 2009

(Washington, DC) and May 2011 (Las Vegas, NV) NAELA Elder Law and Special Needs

Annual National Conferences, a planning committee member of the NAELA Annual Meetings

and Institutes from 2003 - 2012, and was the National Co-Chair and Moderator of the NAELA

November 2012 Institute Practice Management/Practice Development "Advancing Your

Practice" program in Washington, DC.

Dolores Wigman received her Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska and has been

licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1985. She was an assistant state’s attorney in McHenry

County for over nine years, handling criminal cases and representing the county in civil matters.

She was a founding member of the McHenry County Child Advocacy Center and served as the

director. She clerked for the Honorable Susan F. Hutchinson of the Second District Appellate

Court and spent a few years in private practice. Currently, Dolores is the Vulnerable Elder Rights

Coordinator for Prairie State Legal Services where she works on improving the program’s

services to seniors in their 36 county service area.